World champions Argentina suffered a 2-1 defeat to Paraguay while rivals Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw at Venezuela as South America’s big guns struggled

Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Vinicius Júnior had frustrating nights in South American World Cup qualifying.

The last round of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup had several standout players. It seemed like Raphinha was going to be the protagonist for Brazil, scoring a fantastic goal in his debut wearing the number 10 jersey for the national team,

Venezuela held Brazil to a 1-1 draw with a second-half strike from Telasco Segovia in South American World Cup qualifying. Vinicius Junior missed a penalty. The Real Madrid player headlined the match but for the wrong reasons.

A second-half Vinicius Junior penalty miss saw Venezuela hold on to share the points with Brazil in Monagas. The two teams traded chances in the opening half of play, and were it not for some heroic defending and goalkeeping it could have been a high-scoring affair.

Brazil had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Venezuela after a quick-fire second-half strike by substitute Telasco Segovia canceled out Raphinha's opener for the dominant visitors in the South American World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.

Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw at Venezuela with Vinicius Junior missing a penalty in their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier on Thursday.

World champions Argentina suffered a 2-1 defeat to Paraguay while rivals Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw at Venezuela as South America's big guns struggled in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying on Thursday.

Vinicius Junior's costly penalty miss resulted in Brazil dropping points against Venezuela in the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.